New Challenge: A Weak Suck

Now that I can get Ruby to willingly go back to the breast, another challenge has arose. Her suck has become very weak since being on the bottle so long.

I called Mary Ryngart, IBCLC and heard back from her today. She said that this will be an interesting challenge in particular because the majority of the exercises to treat this are for younger infants. Ruby will be 8 months old the first week of August. This makes a difference because the exercises often involve reflexes that Ruby most likely would have grown out of.

The most common exercise is to play tug-of-war while she is sucking on a finger or pacifier or bottle. But she’s smarter now that she’s older. Instead of playing the game with me, she just lets go.

Mary said that we will have to experiment with different things, be creative, and see what works. This could pave the way for other people to get help if we can find something that works.

She has had her tongue successfully released from a tongue tie. She sees 2 chiropractors (one for regular adjustments. The other does Sacrial-Occipital Therapy and has successfully adjusted her palate to be normal.)

So I need some creative ideas about what we could try to increase the strength of her suck. I’m open to anything.

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This is kind of random but has Ruby Sue ever been checked for an upper lip tie? Also are you familiar with the breastfeeding support page on facebook- The Leaky Boob? Might be a great place to ask about ways to increase her suck strength. Glad you are finding treatments/therapies that are working!!

We checked the upper lip. It does have a little bit of a tie, but I’ve been doing exercises given to me from the Beckman Clinic and so it is very loose. The doctor didn’t see a reason to clip it because she had great mobility.

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None of the statements on this blog are approved by the FDA. They are in no way meant to be medical advise. It is only what I have done to heal my family and a journal of my own personal experiences. Consult with a physician before following protocol on this or any other website.